TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2012 - The
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation today announced a
landmark $7.4 million gift from the Temerty Family Foundation to fund promising
new treatments for persistent and severe mental illness, including Canada's
first clinic using Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST).

The current browser does not support Web pages that contain the IFRAME element. To use this Web Part, you must use a browser that supports this element, such as Internet Explorer 7.0 or later.

MST, which uses magnetic pulses (vs.
electricity) to externally stimulate specific regions of the brain, along with
other non-invasive treatments being developed at the newly established Temerty
Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, are poised to significantly expand
scientists' understanding of the brain and improve the range of treatment
options available.

The Temerty Centre for Therapeutic
Brain Intervention - launched today at a dedication ceremony at CAMH's Queen
Street West site - is part of the hospital's groundbreaking Campbell Family
Mental Health Research Institute, home to one of the largest concentration of
psychiatric and addictions researchers in North America.

Clinical research studies are
underway at the Temerty Centre, which houses other brain stimulation treatment
and research programs, including Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
(rTMS), a non-invasive treatment that is effective in 30 to 50 per cent of
patients and, because magnetic stimulation is targeted to a small area,
patients experience little to no side-effects.

"While ECT (electroconvulsive
therapy) has been refined and remains very effective for people with severe,
drug-resistant mental illness, it can also have significant side effects,
including memory loss. As a result, only one per cent of people who could
benefit from ECT try it and 70 per cent only take one treatment,"
explained Dr. Jeff Daskalakis, Director of the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic
Brain Intervention. "The support of the Temerty family is advancing new
treatment avenues and we're confident that rTMS and MST - which use
significantly lower levels of energy to stimulate the brain and have far fewer
side effects - will help improve treatment options for depression and other
serious mental illnesses

By supporting scientific talent,
including Dr. Daskalakis, the Temerty family is championing efforts to make
non-invasive brain stimulation treatments widely available in Canada and
beyond. "Therapeutic brain stimulation has vast potential to revolutionize
mental health care and to change the lives of countless people for the better.
My family and I are proud and excited to support CAMH and the trailblazing work
of its scientists," said Jim Temerty. "Now is the time for new
solutions and CAMH is the best place to fast-track these promising new
treatments from the lab to the clinic."

"The Temerty family has shown
tremendous foresight by investing in the leading-edge clinical research
underway at CAMH," said Darrell Louise Gregersen, President and CEO, CAMH
Foundation. "CAMH is so deeply grateful for their confidence and support.
Together, we will change the world."

Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health (www.camh.ca)
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental
health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading
research centres in this field. CAMH combines clinical care, research,
education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives
of people affected by mental illness and addictions. CAMH is fully affiliated
with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World
Health Organization Collaborating Centre.